mp3 players

[Scott]

Virex's post resparked somehting I had been thinking of for a long time...how long will DVD's and CD's be here and when will they go the way of tape?

I envision eventually, everything entertainment wise in your house will be networked through your computer, all of your movies, music, games will be stored as files with portable equipment to transfer to your car and walkman (which is the way some people are already doing).  Your receiver (I guess "hub") will then route your media to the TV, Speakers etc...everything will be bought on-line and just downloaded to your computer

This is what the PS2 was supposed to eventually be, perhaps that is what PS3 will become

Are we talking 5 years?  10 years?  

[Jim]

A friend of mine and I were talking about this the other day. I think the current format will be around at least another 10 years.  After that, I dont see tape becoming  the medium.  Its quality is great, but its bulky.  Do you really want to rewind an 8 hour tape?   I saw a show on this recently and there just arent enough benefits to going to tape. Plus the quality could be affected by age, light and plain old wear and tear.  If I were to put money on a future format I would say the mini disc will make a comeback in a few years.  After they learn how to compress the format without losing any of the audio or video.  Another plus to the mini disc is that it would most likey be able to be played on current DVD players and future mini disc players may have the option of playing older DVD's.  That way we dont get stuck buying alot of our older movies over again.  Your take on downloading all of your entertainment is something I thought of as well.  But until hi-speed cable becomes more affordable, along with DVD burners and HDTV, I also see this at least 5-10 years away. Also, copyright laws could become a nightmare, as well as bootlegging.

[MisterPL]

Are we talking 5 years?  10 years?  

Let me go check. I'll be right back...

[roguestormtrooper]

I bought a mini-disk player about five years ago thinking that the day would be now,  and not still debating the issue.

[BigDumbWookiee]

I think everything will eventually change over to high speed (satellite, digi cable, dsl) data transfer, entertainment on demand. Think mega advanced Tivo, but controlling movies, music, games, computer data, etc. There is already a growing market for home automation (a market I'd love to get a job in), so I see a lot of this stuff really coming to fruition within the coming years.

In semi-related news, coming to Japan late this year, and to the US early next year, is the new PSX, lovingly referred to as Playstation 2.5. It's PS2, but also has a built in hard disc video recorder, satellite tv tuner, memory stick, built in ethernet port, and DVD writer. PSP (Play Station Portable) is also coming. Think of it as a PS version of Gameboy Advance SP, it uses little discs that look like slightly smaller versions of Minidiscs, also has a memory stick port, and, UNLIKE the GBASP, has a headphone jack lol

[roguestormtrooper]

I wonder what the price will be for that?

[Dimetrodon]

i want soup...

but i also want DVD to be around for a while...
nobodies mentioned the HD-DVD's...
but i guess they are still DVD's
just a higher quality and more memory.. meh...
i can't imagine buying it all again.

but in all honesty, i suspect DVD will be dead in over 20 years..

[Scott]

See I don't think it is that far off...how many mp3's can you store on your computer now?  Most new CD players allow for mp3 playing which means tons of songs on one disc...same will eventually hold true for movies once the whole file storage thing kicks in

I'm thinking it won't be too much longer and everything will be diskless

[Scott]

This thread was formerly about CD's but thought I'd ask, anyone have an iPod or other type of mp3 players.  Being new (and late) to the game, I've been thinking of picking one up.  Plus my new car has a factory stereo in it so I've thought of upgrading that as well

Anyone have experience and or recommendations

[JoshEEE]

I have 3 portable MP3/WMA players (yes, I'm a techie dork)....and I've sampled dozens of others that friends have.

My favorite is the Creative Muvo.  It lacks some of the advanced features (of say an Ipod) but it's absolutely TINY, and that's what counts. It weighs a couple of ounces, and has no display screen.  So much like an old walkman, you just press play and hear what you hear. Still, you should remember what songs you just put on it, right?  The best thing about it, it takes 1 AAA battery to run (for hours and hours) and it's USB memory stick media based.  That means you shove it in your PC, and it's also a removable HDD.  That's pretty cool. Put your files on it, and your music, and carry it around in the 5th tiny pocket of your levis. It's just a little larger than a bic lighter.

My second favorite one is the Compaq Ipaq. It's a little bigger than a book of matches, but thick as a deck of cards. The one I have has a little display window that glows indiglo, and it takes 2 AAAs to run. The thing seems to eat batteries a lot faster than my MUVO, but I use it at the gym because unlike the MUVO, it has a belt clip.

The Diamond Rio I have is an older one, and I only keep it around because I haven't had the urge to toss it yet. It's only 64mb, and it's bulky, but I will admit that it has a great iPod like display.

I've also owned an I-Jam (used those little Iomega Click discs for memory) but I sold it because not only did it eat batteries like Anna Nicole Smith eats donuts, but it was bulky and ugly.

Over-all, the clear winner for me is the MUVO.  Tiny, pretty cheap and can be used for more than just music.

[Matt Carroll]

This thread was formerly about CD's but thought I'd ask, anyone have an iPod or other type of mp3 players.  Being new (and late) to the game, I've been thinking of picking one up.  Plus my new car has a factory stereo in it so I've thought of upgrading that as well

Anyone have experience and or recommendations

Scott, I have a 15 GB iPod and I love it to death! I love being able to take a good chunk of my music collection to school with me and on the road in the car. It's got a non-removable rechargeable battery that makes it 9+ hours on a single charge and it's relatively easy to navigate through the large number of songs (I've got around 1000 songs on it right now and I still have over 10 GB free) that can be stored. One downside if you have a PC, you either need a IEEE-1394 (Firewire) port or you need to buy a USB-to-Firewire converter, which I believe you can only get directly from Apple - I haven't seen them at Best Buy or Circuit City. If you have the 1394 port, the iPod's battery charges while hooked up to the computer; if you go the USB-Firewire converter, I don't believe the battery charges while hooked up to the computer.

[Scott]

Stupid question, do most players come with software which will convert standard CD's to mp3?  Say I want to someday download 100 Pearl Jam Cd's into one unit.  

I'm leaning toward the iPod right now but sorta wish there is a smaller version than 15 GB, that is a lot of freaking songs

[JoshEEE]

Stupid question, do most players come with software which will convert standard CD's to mp3?  Say I want to someday download 100 Pearl Jam Cd's into one unit.  

It's a tossup. Some do, some don't, but that doesn't matter because you can download tons of programs for free. Music Match is a good one (CNet), or you could use good old Windows Media player if you get one of the ones that supports WMAs. That way you can fit twice the music on your device (that's what I do).

In the end though, with as fast as the transfer is on most of them, You don't really NEED 15GB of music when you go rollerblading, do ya?

I usually get through a workout with plenty of songs left on the playlist at only 128MB.

However...in my car, I have a 20GB Kenwood Keg, so I know the desire to take your stuff on the road.  

[Scott]

See that is what I am going for, not so much a walkman type thing, more of a car audio device that I don't have to keep lugging CD's into my car, plus having to rotate which ones are there, just select 200 songs and drive...

[Morgbug]

I'm on the other end of the spectrum.  I have and use a 20 year old Sony sports cassette walkman to work out.  Yeah, it weighs a ton and chews double A's (which are way cheaper than AAA) but it has all my old tunes (you find me Budgie on CD) so I still like it.  

I'll probably hold off until I get a new computer, sometime this fall but need one more for workout than car.  In future I'll probably get something for the vehicular enjoyment aspect.  

Going back to the original topic, I think CD's will remain for a while, if only as an effective tool for marketing.  Yes downloads are prevalent, but lots of people still pay for music and it's a nice package (dare I say the current 'standard') for marketing a limited number of songs.  I don't think Metallica is going to be any more pleased that you can buy their entire library for $19.99 on a single disc/download.  

CD's - 15 years
DVD's about the same

Those are probably long, but there are still old farts like me that have tapes and albums and the equipment to play them on.  Wholesale changes in technology take a substantial period of time.  And the new media do not break down like the old media did.  Easy enough to replace a worn and stretched audio/video tape or a scratched up vinyl LP.  There isn't nearly the desire with DVD's and CD's.  I'm working on replacing my AC/DC cd's but only because they were remastered and the sound was cleaned up substantially.  I'm probably not inclined to replace them again any time soon and newer music isn't likely to need that remastering.